AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY DEPICTION ACCORDING TO “FENCES”

AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY DEPICTION ACCORDING TO “FENCES”

            The era of 1950’s and 1960’s in the history of Pittsburg has been presented as the high time when the African Americans were busy fighting for their civil rights. Mainly, they were striving to achieve goals of desegregating in public places and the enactment of impartial housing and employment laws which were mainly favoring the whites and discriminating the blacks.  After the demolition of Hill District, the largest black neighborhood in the area is when major protests erupted (Bodnar, Simon & Weber, 2013).

As a result, the Crawford Avenue in the Hill was branded the Freedom Corner because it acted as the intersection where protesters marched towards the city hall. Also, Freedom Corner acted as the departure point for Pittsburghers who trudged towards Washington to support Dr. Martin Luther King who was advocating for equal treatment for both the whites and blacks. It is during these years that blacks were making their initial strides in the struggle for equal civil rights in the society because they were being treated like lesser beings. Wilson’s Fences has accurately tackled the encounter of the black Americans in the hands of Native Americans and therefore can be seen as an accurate depiction of African American community of the Pittsburgh Hills District in 1950’s (Bodnar, Simon & Weber, 2013).

Wilson’s Fences has painted the picture of blacks in their process of rebellion against the whites who had dominated then and as a result they seem to undergo a lot of frustrations basically because of their economic insecurity and the lack of opportunities (Wilson & Scott, 1994). Even though America had been crowned as the superpower after the Second World War world, the play has clearly showed that the freedom which had been acquired through the unity of both races in America, Blacks and Natives was being enjoyed by only the Whites but for the Blacks things had not changed much.

In this play, Troy has been used to represent the older generation and which was undergoing internalized oppressions to an extent of depend on the tools they had acquired in the social settings of their own times. The play indicates that several changes have taken place and which have made the new generations perceive life differently in the same light of the changed social environments (Wilson & Scott, 1994). The main symbolism “Fences” has been used to represent the illiterate blacks due to which they had been left with limited choices and being poorly equipped to face life challenges compared to the whites who could easily access education.

Just like it has been recorded in the history Pittsburg between 1950’s and 1960’s where African Americans were busy fighting for their civil rights and mainly to achieve desegregation goals in public places and the enactment of impartial housing and employment laws which were basically favoring the whites and discriminating the blacks, the Maxson family has been used in this play to depict the lives of black tenements in Pittsburg in 1950s. Through this setting, their entire struggle drama, frustrations, rebellion, conflicts and predicament clearly unfolds (Wilson & Scott, 1994).

The lives of the blacks in the New America are clearly not according to what has been reflected in the definition of democracy according to Lincolnian as well as the natural rights according to Jeffersonian idea (Wilson & Scott, 1994). It is in this time that the blacks were not able to access the same opportunities and facilities like the whites. The play is opened by Troy and his friend Bono meditating on their former challenges in a company and about the blacks’ capability of doing the same easy tasks that the whites were doing.

Although in his old age, Troy seems to be under rebellion and frustrations which also set the tone for the whole play (Wilson & Scott, 1994). This is the same scenario being witnessed the streets of Pittsburg where people are fighting for their rights through protests and demonstrations. Troy is fighting for his rights as a black American and his life appears to be a story of wasted opportunities which can be linked with the denial of education opportunities to the blacks as evident in Pittsburg. This has brought light to the kind of life being experienced by the Blacks in America (Wilson & Scott, 1994). In the play, blacks find it hard to access white collar jobs because they lack education and other trainings which can enable them qualify for those jobs because they have been denied the chances of accessing quality education just like the whites as it is the scenario in the real struggle of 1950’s and 1960’s in Pittsburg because the whole social system has been compromised by racism. The struggle undergone by Troy to keep his family together depicts the life of blacks in America.

Additionally, the character of Troy has been used in this play to signify the treatment extended to blacks by the whites in all the aspects, second grade citizens, just as in his incidence as an enthusiastic play who had energy to play in major leagues but because of being black was neglected to the Negro leagues (Wilson & Scott, 1994). Through his childhood social environment, he has been in a position to internalize the oppression being exercised by the whites towards the blacks. His treatment on the hands of the whites had blinded him to any opportunity possibility as a black American.

Although his son Cory is growing up in different time from his own, Troy seems to oppose the decision of his son to play major leagues because he gauges everything out of his experience with whites who had completely compromised his ambitions of becoming a successful sports man (Wilson & Scott, 1994).  To some extent, he was right because the son would probably face the same humiliations like him and again being a sports person was not going to provide him with a permanent solution to the economic deprivation problem which was facing them as blacks without voice just like in the real scenario of 1950’s to 1960’s in Pittsburg. Troy was advocating for the idea of his son going for a job that would enable him get money to solve their everyday life problems. Though this to some extend was true, the son could not take it in his father’s point of view because he was optimistic to take the advantage of changes in America society during his time.

In conclusion, Fences gives a clear picture of the African American community of the Pittsburgh Hills District in 1950’s and which had been deprived many opportunities and facilities which were supposed to make their lives better. The incarceration of blacks in America during this time has also been presented in this book. Also, the institutionalization some of the characters towards the eve of this play depicts the very miserable picture of black Americans in Pittsburgh Hills District in 1950’s.

References

Bodnar, J. E., Simon, R., & Weber, M. P. (2013). Lives of their own: Blacks, Italians, and Poles    in Pittsburgh, 1900-1960 (Vol. 286). University of Illinois Press.

Wilson, A., & Scott, S. (1994). Fences (p. 282). Connecticut Repertory Theatre.